News in Brief

A Netanya resident was arrested recently on suspicion of stabbing a Palestinian construction worker due to nationalist motives. The Netanya Magistrates Court lifted a gag order on the case yesterday. Police arrested the 23-year-old two weeks ago after the Palestinian was found stabbed in the chest at a Netanya construction site. The suspect claims his motive was not nationalist; rather, he says, he stabbed the Palestinian because the man was "staring at his sister." But police say the victim's testimony supports the nationalist theory. (Yaniv Kubovich )

A refugee from Sudan's Darfur region was detained at Ben-Gurion Airport over the weekend because he had $40,000 in his possession that he had not declared. He was about to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Addis Ababa, and told investigators he planned to continue from there on to Sudan. The man, who held an official UN document declaring him a refugee, aroused the suspicions of undercover customs agents in the terminal. He was not allowed to board his flight and is expected to be charged by the Tax Authority. The law requires sums over NIS 100,000 (about $29,000 ) to be declared on leaving the country.
(Zohar Blumenkrantz )

The Sachsenhausen concentration camp memorial site will begin charging fees for tours. One of the first camps set up by the Nazis, opening as early as 1936. Sachsenhausen had more than 200,000 inmates, mostly opponents of the Nazi regime. Ten of thousands of them died. Last week, Sachsenahausen's memorial became the first concentration camp to charge a one euro fee for tours. Representatives of the administration at the site say they will charge guides rather than groups. Contrary to reports in the German press, according to which the charge was an entry fee, the administration insists that only guided tours will require payment. (Haaretz Staff )

Jello Biafra, lead singer of the punk-rock group Guantanamo School of Medicine, has backed out of the band's upcoming appearance in Tel Aviv, bowing to political pressure. Biafra explained on his Facebook page that he and the band had been heavily pressured to cancel, though he also said he was not doing so at any particular group's behest. He said he intended to study the issue and he might conclude that his initial decision to play Israel was right. Representatives of the production company said they regreted Biafra's decision, The company said ticket holders could contact them for a full refund. (Lea Penn )